


local spiderteen wants to see dem aliens

by ironarana



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Aliens, Area 51 Raid, Author regrets nothing, Gen, author regrets everything, buzzfeed unsolved - Freeform, everyone is a big nerd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 10:44:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20852147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironarana/pseuds/ironarana
Summary: “Okay, fine. We’ll go.”Peter’s expression brightens like it’s Christmas day. He smiles and fist pumps, laughing in between exclaiming, “Yes! Yes, yes, yes, thank you Mr. Stark, thank you, thank you, thank you!”“No problem. Although I don’t think you had to beg so hard. I own Area 51, you know.”Peter sobers, coming down from elation and sinking into a grave seriousness.“Wait, you do?Or, Peter goes to the area 51 raid and drags Tony along with him.





	local spiderteen wants to see dem aliens

**Author's Note:**

  * For [losingmymindtonight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/losingmymindtonight/gifts).

> i originally was not going to post this here because i want to have a Reputation here to uphold but you know what, whatever, it is my acc and i'll post what i please even if it isn't the most ground breaking, well written thing ever. at least it's funny. or at least i hope it is. 
> 
> i wanted to dedicate this to losingmymindtonight which is scary cause like...she's legendary in the irondad fandom and i am but a small bby writer here. but i love her writing and her passion so, kat if you're reading this, i hope you like it.

“You know this sounds stupid, right?” 

Peter is sitting on the countertops, legs dangling off the edge and swinging back and forth as he scrolls through his phone while Tony works concentratedly on rewiring an Iron Man gauntlet. 

“Yeah but there’s gonna be like two million people there!” Peter insists excitedly. “What if we actually get to see a real live alien?” 

Tony groans exaggeratedly. “I’ve seen aliens up close and personal before.” He sets down his screwdriver and shoots an unimpressed glare at Peter. “They’re not fun.” 

Peter shoulder’s sag but his determination is unrelenting. “Yeah but those aliens like came to invade and take over the planet. Not all aliens are like that, Mr. Stark.” 

“I cannot believe you just used the words ‘not all aliens’ right to my face, right here, right now.” 

“Come on, please can we go?” Peter begs. “I can take that day off of school, I’m ahead in all my classes anyways.” 

Tony looks at Peter, really looks at him. There’s a nervous yet pure, unadulterated excitement shining in his wide, brown eyes and he’s still swinging his legs back and forth, like a child. The corner of his lip is between his teeth and Tony swears he can feel the dramatic tension swelling, hinging on his response. He knows this at least: There’s no way Peter can get to Arizona without him. So it’s all on him. Whether to crush Peter’s probably misplaced hopes and dreams or whether to go along with it, if only because it would be funny to tell Rhodey later that they went to this ridiculous area 51 raid and saw aliens. 

Then again, Rhodey probably wouldn’t find it as funny. 

But it would annoy Pepper to no end the longer Tony talked about it and construed the story and that would be infinitely more entertaining. 

So, Tony sighs, resolve melting. How can he say no, really? His eyes soften. He raises his hands in surrender. 

“Okay, fine. We’ll go.” 

Peter’s expression brightens like it’s Christmas day. He smiles and fist pumps, laughing in between exclaiming, “Yes! Yes, yes, yes, thank you Mr. Stark, thank you, thank you, thank you!” 

“No problem. Although I don’t think you had to beg so hard. I own Area 51, you know.” 

Peter sobers, coming down from elation and sinking into a grave seriousness. 

“Wait, you do?”   
-

Tony doesn’t own Area 51 but he thought it would be funny to have Peter secretly think he does. 

And it’s even funnier to hear Peter call Ned in the corner of the room and convince Ned to come along, while also whispering loud and conspiratorially, “Mr. Stark owns Area 51, Ned, how is that even possible? Wouldn’t he know whats inside?” 

He can’t hear what Ned says in response over Tony trying to stifle the laughter bubbling his chest. But Ned agrees to go along and two months later, they’re boarding a private plane to head to Nevada. 

Ned has never been on a private plane before so Peter takes him through a tour like he’s suddenly a professional on private planes even though he only rode on one twice to Germany and back. 

Tony still can’t believe the whole absurdity of the situation. As they all settle into their reclining seats and buckle in for the take off, Tony says aloud, “Why are we even doing this? You’ve seen an alien, Peter. You’ve been on an alien spaceship.” 

“It doesn’t count, those were mean aliens,” Peter argues while Ned looks between the two of them, eyes growing too wide for his head with every word. Peter continues, “Like I said, maybe we’ll meet the nice aliens.” 

“Let me be clear,” Tony says firmly, raising an index finger, “That this will not be an ‘E.T.-phone-home’ situation, okay? If any of you sneak a tiny alien onto this plane, I will arrange an alien abduction for you myself and not by the nice ones, got it?” 

Peter exchanges a glance with Ned. There’s a sly, mischievous uptilt to Peter’s lips before he slowly, deliberately, draws out, “So, you’re implying nice aliens exist?” 

Tony glares. Peter and Ned collapse into laughter. 

Tony is sure that aliens, intelligent ones, at least, probably have the same capacity for good and evil like humans do. He’s just less sure that most aliens are good ones. Considering his own personal experiences, and his admittedly limited knowledge, he hasn’t met a nice alien yet outside of Nebula and the Guardians. And the fraction of aliens they represent is probably incredibly small. 

But Peter is nothing if not an optimism. So he’ll let Peter keep his optimism and he’ll be the pragmatist. 

Even if it means he’s flying them all on a jet to crazy town. 

-

“I heard that they’re keeping an alien there that’s like a liquid.” 

They’ve made it to the hotel. It’s no Four Seasons but it also doesn’t look like it belongs in a horror film. They won’t be haunted in their sleep. 

“What do you mean ‘liquid’, Ned?” Peter asks and sets his backpack down in a chair.

Tony settles down into a desk chair and watches Ned and Peter conspire back forth with each other. 

“Like a symbiote type thing,” Ned explains. “People are saying it landed in a meteor crash like a year ago and cycled through different government departments before ending up in their top secret research division aka area 51.” 

“Mr. Stark? Do you know anything about that?” 

Tony tries to play it innocent, like he has no idea what they’re talking about but wants to let on that he knows more than he actually does. He wants to maintain the ruse that he owns area 51 as long as he can. 

“Oh, no idea what you’re talking about,” Tony replies. “I said I own the place. I didn’t say I know everything that goes on in it.” 

Tony has to bite his tongue as Ned and Peter exchanges stares with each other. No doubt, they probably think Tony is a secret member of the illuminati too by now or something. 

Either way, Tony takes out his tablet and lays it on the desk to answer work emails while Peter and Ned turn on the television and order room service. They talk little, the time difference from the flight tiring them out. It’s around midnight by the time Peter and Ned slip into their pajamas and then into bed. Peter offers to take the couch instead of Tony. 

“No, you don’t have to take the couch, it’s alright,” Tony says, gentle. “I’ve slept in worse places, trust me, I’ll be fine.” 

Worry creases Peter’s brow together and Tony can’t help thinking it’s cute when Peter is worried. After a minute, he replies, “Okay. G’night, Mr. Stark.” 

“Night, kid. Sweet dreams.” 

Peter climbs into bed and settles in under the covers. By dim, yellow lamplight Tony watches Peter’s side rise and fall with his breathing. Sure, they’re in a hotel in Nevada. Sure, they’re gonna head to area 51 tomorrow and sure, it’s all a little crazy. 

But if it means he can spend more time with this brilliant, incredible kid, then he’ll take it. 

Tony goes to sleep shortly after Peter does and then rises early. He’s not sure why. Maybe all the talk about aliens is still a little unnerving, especially after all the encounters with them he’s had, most of them unpleasant. So he answers more emails, designs more upgrades for Rhodey and Peter’s suits.   
As the sun begins to rise, light slowly spilling in through the curtains, Peter and Ned begin to stir underneath the covers and Tony decides to “talk” to “someone” on the phone. 

“Yeah, uh huh,” he says, to no one on the other line. “Yeah, just make sure there’s extra security around the perimeter. We don’t know what the crowds are gonna look like tonight.” 

Even from across the room, Tony notices how Peter’s eyes snap open then closed quickly. He’s heard but doesn’t want Tony to know he’s heard. Tony spins casually in the desk chair and continues. 

“No, let’s just stick to tasers and hand guns. I don’t wanna use tear gas unless it’s absolutely necessary. In the meantime, let’s relocate the children to the inner facilities in case there’s a breach in the perimeter.” 

From the frantic rising and falling of his side, Tony can tell Peter is literally on the verge of exploding right then and there. Tony can barely contain himself, he just wants to burst out laughing but he can’t or that would void the entire ruse so he calls it, decides to “hang up” on the “security administrator.” 

“Alright, I gotta go. Thanks, bye.” 

Tony messes around on his tablet, waiting to see how long it will take until Peter and Ned wake. It’s only about five minutes and when they do, they act like they’ve been asleep the entire time and didn’t hear anything at all. 

“Morning,” Tony greets as Peter sleepily rubs his eyes and smacks his lips, gaze bleary. But Tony can see right through it: there’s a frenetic nervousness underlying the pretend haziness Peter is playing at. 

“Morning, Mr. Stark,” Peter croaks. 

“Sorry if I woke you up,” Tony replies. “I had some work calls to make.” 

Much to his credit, Peter’s eyes widen only a hair compared to Ned’s, however, which look like flying saucers at the mere mention of these supposed “work calls”. 

Tony clears his throat. “But I hope you guys slept good. We got quite the night ahead of us.” 

-

How they spend the _ day _ , however, is by binge watching as many Area 51 and alien conspiracy videos Ned can find on YouTube. 

A lot of them are by a network called Buzzfeed Unsolved. While Tony knows Buzzfeed, and has ready many a hilarious Spider-Man articles on the site, he’s never heard of the show. 

“So let me get this straight,” Tony says, “They cover all different kinds of paranormal experiences and phenomenons that will never be solved.” 

“Basically, yeah,” Peter replies. “They do murders too.” Then Peter remembers something and his eyes alight. “Oh, oh, oh! They even have one on Star Lord, Mr. Stark! How cool is that?” 

Ned looks confusedly between Peter and Tony. “Wait, who is Star Lord?” 

Peter turns to Ned. “It’s this guy I met on Titan when I rode on the spaceship-”

“Snuck on the spaceship,” Tony corrects but Peter is too excited to pay attention. 

“-Peter Quill, remember that episode?” 

“Oh my God, you actually met him?!” Ned exclaims. “This is amazing, you actually solved an unsolved episode. Oh my God, we have to email them or call them or something. This is so crazy.” 

Tony shakes his head and Ned is on the Buzzfeed hotline two minutes later, phone pressed to his ear. 

-

They don’t bundle up much except for jackets and hoodies. 

It’s south Nevada and even though it’s mid-September, it’s not cold enough to warrant heavy layers. But it doesn’t hurt to prepare. 

Tony buys snacks, candy and drinks in the hotel lobby and pack them in Ned’s backpack. Then they head out to the parking lot. There’s a light chill and a breeze but nothing too unbearable. They pile into the rental SUV. It’s not loud or ostentatious like Tony is used to but it’s got good gas mileage and it’ll do the job just fine. 

They jump on the highway. It’s about an hour drive from their hotel to the meeting point and Tony is just trying to prepare himself for all the crazy conspiracy theorists, Iron Man fanboys and stoners that will probably there. It’s bound to be an interesting crowd and he almost wishes he really did own area 51 and had some sway. 

It’s not like he’s going off to fight Hydra. 

But the situation is going to be just that: a situation. 

Peter and Ned ride in the backseat huddled around their phones, faces cast in a glow from the light. They doze off and awake periodically, shifting around to get comfortable, bundling up their coats to use as pillows. 

The highway is quiet. Just lights passing by in a blur. Mellow rock songs play through the stereo as Tony drives, sipping the awful hotel coffee that’s gone cold by now. It’s not like he really needs it. He’s mastered the art of not sleeping for extended periods at a time. It’s not something he’s necessarily proud of but it does help in some cases. 

Like driving to Area 51 because a certain teenager wants to quote, “See dem aliens.” 

Soon enough, Tony exits the highway and then he’s off roading it. Thank God he rented an SUV. 

Peter eventually wakes with all the jostling that comes with driving over the rocky terrain. 

“Are we there yet?” he asks, voice drenched thickly with sleep. 

“Almost,” Tony replies. “It’s gonna be a bit of a walk. We can’t exactly drive right up to the front gates.” 

Peter yawns and stretches his arms as much as he can in the cramped space of the backseat. “Okay.” 

It’s a couple minutes later that Tony stops at a lot where other cars are parked and fanatics are unloading their cars, grabbing backpacks and congregating. Some have brought homemade signs with photos of ET plastered on them or even worse, pictures from the Battle of New York. 

Tony tries to ignore the shiver that moves down his spine at the sight of those ones. 

He parks and Peter and Ned excitedly clamber out. They’re both practically vibrating with excitement. Tony is a little more reserved. He has to be the rational decision maker since he’s the adult, and Peter and Ned aren’t exactly in the right headspace to make clear, level headed decisions. 

Tony locks the car and when he turns around, Peter and Ned are gone. His heart stops for a second until he sees them running off to go talk to a group of people. 

He belatedly wishes he had the foresight to install a tracker in both of them. 

But then again, he is Tony Stark. And as long as Peter and Ned have their phones, then he can track them on GPS. 

So maybe this won’t be too bad. 

-

“Are you sure the ad said two million?” 

An hour later, they’ve made it to the gates. Tony isn’t in the worst shape. After all, he has to be pretty fit to pilot the suit. But, he will say, an hour walk late at night is kinda tiring. 

“Yeah, why?” Peter replies. 

“Cause I don’t know about you,” Tony continues, “but this looks more like two hundred people showed up.” 

It’s true: there’s probably a max of only two hundred people gathering outside the gates. Tony has been to company Christmas parties larger than this. 

The size is good though. And they’re not actually attempting to “storm” area 51 so much as gather outside it. Holding signs. Talking, goofing off. Guards stand at the ready outside the gate in case anyone tries to cause trouble. Tony doesn’t think anyone will. The crowd isn’t mellow but they’re not inciting a riot either, which is good. 

Peter’s expression flickers just a little bit. Tony sees something like defeat cross his features and then it’s gone and Peter draws in a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. Trying to make the best of it. 

“Well,” Peter starts, “It’s something at least, right?” 

“Sure,” Tony draws out. “I guess so.” 

Ned blows them both off. “I’m gonna go talk to a couple people,” he says and then jogs off. 

Peter doesn’t move yet. Something tells Tony that Peter wants to say something, from the way he awkwardly shifts on his heels, the way he looks down at the dirt. Tony doesn’t press. 

“Mr. Stark, are you mad at me?” 

Tony feels stung. He maneuvers himself in front of Peter so they can see each other. His eyes are sad, brows pinched together in confusion. 

“No,” Tony says, shaking his head. “Of course not, why would you think that?” 

Peter shrugs. “Well, the ad did say two million. And you flew us a long way out here just for this.”

Tony glances back at the crowd then to Peter. “The crowd doesn’t matter. I didn’t fly out you out here for this, I flew you out here so you and Ned could have a fun time.” 

Peter hesitantly, nervously, dares to look Tony in the eyes. 

“Hey,” Tony says softly. “I’m not mad at you. I’m just disappointed that you ever thought I would be over something like this.” 

Peter shifts again. “Sorry.” 

Tony shakes his head. “You don’t have to apologize. Come here.” 

Tony folds Peter into a hug. Cold night air wraps itself around them but together, they’re warm. They’re both strong and steady against the breeze, arms around each other. 

Then they pull away from each other. Tony insists, “Go on now. Go have a good time.” 

Peter smiles and then runs off. 

And though he doesn’t see it, Tony smiles at him. 

-

Things don’t get too crazy. 

A couple people are arrested but other than that, Peter and Ned manage to have a good time. Tony doesn’t mingle too much but the inevitable stoner announces his presence, slurring, “Oh my God, Iron Man is here guys!” 

Tony takes a couple selfies and after a couple hours, it’s time to drive back to the hotel if they want to fly home tomorrow morning. Or rather, today’s morning. It is one am, after all. 

They trek back to the car Peter takes shotgun. Ned passes out in the backseat. Tony steels himself for the drive back and sits in the driver’s seat, navigating his way back to the highway. 

Peter doesn’t fall asleep right away. In his periphery, Tony notices how Peter gazes distantly out the window, not saying much. Peter talked his ear off the whole hike back so maybe he’s just talked himself out but he’s too hyped on adrenaline to say anything more. 

But something about the silence seems deliberate. Peter is chewing on the corner of his lip. Thinking. Tony wonders what more there is to say. 

Eventually, Peter murmurs, “Mr. Stark?” 

“Yeah, kid?” 

A pause. “Thank you. For flying me out here. You didn’t even have to do that but you did. And it...it means a lot.” 

Tony wishes he could really look at Peter and not just glance. But he has to keep his eyes on the road. So he just smiles. 

“You’re welcome,” he replies and sets a hand on Peter’s shoulder, squeezing it affectionately. 

Peter smiles back through the darkness and then sinks deeper into his seat and falls asleep. 

-

In the morning, after they’ve made it to the hotel and they’ve all slept, Tony awakes to a text. 

** Rhodey (9:31am): ** _ Are you for real? _

He attaches a link and Tony opens it to a news headline. 

** BILLIONAIRE TECH MOGUL TONY STARK SPOTTED AT AREA 51 RAID! **

** Tony (9:34am): ** _ So I took Peter and his friend to A51. You mad? _

** Rhodey (9:35am): ** _ No. _

** Rhodey (9:35am): ** _ I’m disappointed you didn’t invite me too. _

A laugh escapes him and then he hears someone stirring, and glances from his bed to where Peter is rustling around underneath the covers in the bed opposite his own. 

“Something wrong, Mr. Stark?” Peter asks, squinting against the morning light. His hair is sticking out all over the place. It’s adorable. Tony’s heart swells. 

“Nothing, kid,” Tony replies, soft. 

“Absolutely nothing at all.”

**Author's Note:**

> so yeah.   
subscribe if you want to see more Quality Content like this on your dash. i hope you guys enjoyed. leave a comment or kudos if you can? otherwise, i'll see you guys next update. i got a bunch new stories ideas i'm working on or really excited for. love you guys!
> 
> wattpad: ironarana


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